Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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38 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW The most consistent aspect involved November collapses with a 9-12 record over that span. The clock is ticking when it comes to what Kelly's legacy will be, although he is ada- mant that it has no bearing in his daily duties that focus on graduating players, serving the community and winning a championship. "I've never been about legacies as much as I've been about championships and develop- ing championship players," Kelly said. "My motivation is to develop the individuals that I have in our program. "If I'm worried about all those other things, I wouldn't do the job that I'm sup- posed to do — and I did a poor job of it in '16 because I didn't focus on our players the way that I should. "What I'm doing on a day-to-day basis is focusing on player and program devel- opment. … The rest, I'll let everyone else decide what that is." He also insists the fire remains in the belly to continue the reconstruction phase begun after the 2016 meltdown, especially because of the caliber of student-athletes the school innately attracts. "Notre Dame requires you to do a lot of different things, but the payoff and rewards are great as well," he said. "You get to coach great kids, you get the opportunity to do in- credible things all over the country represent- ing Notre Dame as an ambassador as its head coach. There is a lot of energy that is required in this job, but much is given back too. "I'm in agreement with 'We haven't won a national championship yet,' and that's the ul- timate prize. But that doesn't mean we're not going to be working harder — and smarter — for it. And we have put ourselves in a bet- ter position than at any time over the last — what is it now, 25 years? — to win a national championship." The commitment from the university to make it happen is conspicuous with its in- vestment into the infrastructure, including sports medicine, support staff, nutrition, re- cruiting, training facilities, etc. "I have 33 people sit in this office for staff meetings now," Kelly said in the conference room on the second floor of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex that opened in 2005. Less than a football field away from Kelly's office is the skeletal construction stages of an impending $46 million, 111,400-square-foot Irish Indoor Athletic Center that is scheduled for completion in July 2019. About 200 yards east of it is last year's $500 million enhancement to Notre Dame Stadium, the locker room and all the game- day amenities. This from a school that once used to pride itself before the turn of the century on not permitting its football coach to draw a larger salary from the school than its top professors. "We're no longer apologizing for excel- lence in athletics as well," Kelly said. "If we continue to recruit the way we're doing it, continue to build the resources necessary for our student-athletes, continue to stay on top of things when it comes to attracting the best coaches … "We still have some work to do, but it's all in order in terms of having all those resources. The university has stepped up, our Board of Trustees has been great in giving us the kind of resources financially to do these things. "We all go into a season with a champion- ship mentality that we are here at the very minimum to be one of the four playoff teams, and then let's play. "We're going to win a national champion- ship here. It's just a matter of when." Addressing November And Finishing Strong The November data at Notre Dame since 2013 is stark. In the 21 games the Fighting Irish have played the past five Novembers they are 9-12. They have also lost the regular-season finale, either at Stanford or USC, a school-record five straight years. This year's November slate isn't easier, traveling first to Northwestern (10-3 last year), hosting Florida State, playing Syracuse (which upset Clemson last season) in Yankee Stadium, and then heading out to revenge- minded USC. Four of the last five games will be on the road, including two trips to California. After the 4-8 calamity in 2016, six new on-field assistants were hired, not including a dramatic makeover in the strength and con- ditioning office. This year, the renovation centers on a strong start in the opener versus Michigan, but an even better finish in November. It began in January with sports medicine and physical therapy. "The things we're doing in January and February are what lead up to November. It starts with really enhancing our ability to In July 2019, Notre Dame's 111,400- square-foot Irish Indoor Athletics Center is slated to be completed where the current LaBar Practice Complex stands. These are the uni- versity renderings of the complex, which also will be used for campus and community events, including game-day hospitality. IMAGES COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL "We're going to win a national championship here. It's just a matter of when." KELLY